Oh how eager I’ve been to share about Eliza’s arrival! I’m so blessed by her life, and honored to be her mama! And I’m SO thankful she is here rather than in my body!

FOREWARNING! Long post ahead!

Partway through my pregnancy, I decided that I really wanted to have an as natural of a birth experience as possible. With the twins, I had a very medicated labor and delivery (think pitocin induction, epidural, delivering on a metal operating table as is standard for twins, etc!). This time around, I didn’t even think about the fact that I had options of where and how I wanted to deliver my baby, because everything seemed so out of my control with the twins. Around 30 weeks, I read Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth, and I suddenly had this huge urge to experience a drug free delivery…even though that idea really horrified me and I didn’t know if I’d be able to do it! I read and listened to lots of birth stories, and by the time I was full term, I felt really empowered and mentally ready to DO THIS.

And then I just had to keep waiting. and keep waiting.

If you’ve been past your due date, you know how HARD these last few days of waiting can be when you’re so uncomfortable with a giant belly and all the aches and pains that come with that! Since I was induced with the twins right before 38 weeks, I assumed this baby would be early – NOT a good mindset to have! I was ready for her to come any day after 38 weeks, especially since I’d been having contractions since so early on, so the wait felt like forever. I very strongly didn’t want to be induced, so after 39 weeks hit, I had an induction massage…and nothing. Boo.

My OB did my membrane stretch and sweep at my 39 week appointment…and nothing. I was 4cm and 60% effaced, but not having regular contractions.

She did it again at my 40 week appointment..and nothing.

Once my induction was scheduled, I felt desperate to not make it to that date. I took long walks. I took castor oil (which brought on contractions and thankfully no running to the bathroom!). More long walks. Even jogged! More castor oil. Gag. Then on Saturday morning, I had induction acupuncture, and the doctor said he would be shocked if I didn’t go into labor within 24 hours.

Well, that evening my contractions felt a little stronger, so I started tracking them. They were 1:58min apart and lasting about 55 seconds! Oh I was so excited! But after 30 min passed and they didn’t get any stronger, I decided to go to sleep, convinced the contractions would stop. And right when I did, I felt a couple big POPS!!! My eyes shot open, as I had read stories about that feeling when a woman’s water breaks! I stood up, and sure enough, there was a little gush!! I rushed to the bathroom and there were LOTS of gushes. I mean a LOT of water. Like holy-smokes-how-in-the-world-will-I-get-to-the-car-without-flooding-our-home sort of water. I called my doula and asked her what to do. I stuffed a towel in my underwear (yep, pretty hilarious!), wrapped a large bath towel around my waist, and then threw on a robe. My husband put a garbage bag on the seat of the car and topped it with towels for me to sit on. As we drove to the hospital, my contractions quickly began getting stronger, and with each one, the floodgates of waters opened up! It was such a surreal experience, and I was OVERJOYED to be in labor!!!!

When I was first checked in triage (around 11pm), I was 5cm. Things were happening! Contractions started to become strong enough that I had to focus through them. My doula arrived and right away began to rub lavender lotion on my feet. AMAZING! I was so thankful to have her there.

Once I got in my labor & delivery room, I was asked what position I wanted to labor in to start with, and I had NO IDEA! I was told that in labor, you’ll just know what positions will feel best, but I was clueless. My body didn’t give me those hints! Thinking it would be a long night ahead, I started laboring in the bed on my side so that I could fully rest between contractions, which were about 3 minutes apart. But then, my body started to shiver/shake uncontrollably all over! It was intense and awful. I couldn’t rest between contractions because my body was so tense from shaking. I remember reading that this is often a sign that a woman is in transition (the final stage of labor before being fully dilated), but it seemed so early that the nurses didn’t even think about checking me. (oh, and the dr on call required me to have continuous monitoring, which I was very clearly against in my birth plan. The nurses were frustrated with him about this, as they felt it was so ridiculous for a low risk delivery! So annoying, but I rolled with it rather than let it bother me too much, since I was still able to move around.)

I felt very strongly that I needed to poop (yes, keeping it real here!)…but again, it happened so quickly after getting to the room that even though I felt like I needed to push, it seemed like no one believed me. My doula got the tub ready for me, and that felt so so so so good. I mean, the contractions were still crazy intense, but the water was extremely calming. I felt really nauseous with each contraction – yuck. My doula poured warm water on my back with each one, and prayed over me. Yep, she was amazing. SUCH a good decision to have her!! This is when the song “It is Well” by Kristen Dimarco came on my L&D playlist, and it was God’s gift to me in that moment. The words and the feel of the song was exactly what I needed, and I told my doula to put that song on repeat.

The urge to push just kept getting more intense, so I got out of the tub to be checked. I was fully dilated!! Grant was getting situated for a long night, and he said something like, “WHAT?! you mean we’re going to have a baby soon?!” I couldn’t believe it either! It all happened so quickly! And I really bet I was fully dilated even before I labored in the tub! I couldn’t believe I had already worked through the contractions…and successfully without an epidural!! Once it was time to push, I declared how horrified I was to push! Ha! And then it ended up to be one of the best parts about labor.

You see, with the twins, my epidural took away 100% of feeling in my core and legs, which meant I couldn’t feel a single contraction. So when it was time to push, I had to be TOLD when to push. I couldn’t get the breathing right and ended up asking for oxygen because I felt so out of breath and light headed with each push. But this time around? I didn’t need to think about it. My body took over and I couldn’t NOT push. Of course, I had to add effort to it, but there was no question when I needed to push, and that was incredible to me. It’s absolutely amazing how God designed our bodies to know just what to do to birth a baby, and I’m so grateful I got to experience what that felt like without any meds! No, it wasn’t pleasant, but it was pretty amazing!

Pushing her body out was extremely painful and I remember saying “ah! It hurts! It hurts SO MUCH!”. Then the doctor said the one thing that truly angers me. He said quite loudly, “she’s going to have big tear!” Unbelievable!!! Talk about words that don’t encourage me to continue pushing, especially in the worst of the pain!!! He had no tact. I wanted to punch him. Of course I kept pushing, but it put even more fear in me and maybe if he hadn’t said that, he wouldn’t have had to YANK her out of me. Yes, he didn’t just kind of pull…he really had to pull her out. I’m glad I didn’t know that until after the fact, ha! She was born at 2:26am on Sunday, just a little over 3 hours after arriving at the hospital!

Grant declared her a girl and then she was immediately laid on my chest. This is when things got extremely painful. The pushing on my abdomen to help get the blood out was AWFUL. I apparently was bleeding a lot, so I was put on pitocin to help with that. And the doctor began stitching up my third degree tear before the numbing stuff went into effect. oh. my. goodness. words truly can’t describe the pain, and I’m glad I just have memory of how bad it was, rather than being able to re-feel that in my memory. I didn’t scream or cry during labor & delivery, but I did during all this post-delivery stuff. Meanwhile, I wasn’t able to fully take in my sweet new baby or feel all the feels that come from enduring a natural delivery And then I looked down and Eliza was nursing!!! What?! Yep, my doula was pretty awesome!

The nurses were taking bets on how much she weighed, and finally an hour or so after her birth, I made them weigh her because I was so curious. A whopping 9lbs 11oz!! No wonder my belly felt so giant, and that she had to be pulled out! Whew!

I am so grateful for how Eliza’s birth played out, that I didn’t need to be induced, that my water broke so that there was no question if I was in labor, that it was quick (not sure how long I would have been able to endure those intensely painful contractions!), and that Eliza was born so perfectly healthy. And then we got to go home with her just a day and a half later! And now, almost 4 weeks later, I can’t imagine life without her <3

(Photo above from Eliza’s newborn session at 3 days old by Allison Corrin Photography)

My sweet Eliza is already 2 weeks old! Having a little baby in the house with big toddlers running around makes the itty bitty newborn days pass by so quickly! I know this post is a bit out of order, as I haven’t even written her birth story yet, but I want to do a 2 week postpartum update, as this post will be a bit shorter and easier to write!

(photos above taken by me)

Physical Healing? Well, at 2 weeks PP, I’m feeling pretty good! The first week after Eliza’s birth was very rough as far as pain. I chose not to take home any prescription pain meds, and just took some occasional tylenol to take the edge off. As you’ll read in my birth story, I had a 3rd degree tear, OUCH. The pain in recovery was much worse than with the twins…the difference between two babies a little over 6lbs and a baby who was nearly 10lbs! Once I was sitting or standing, I felt fine, but moving around and sitting down/standing up was ROUGH. Goodness gracious, why did the hospital not send me home with a doughnut to sit on??! No amount of dermaplast or tucks helped ease the pain! And…hemorrhoids. TMI? Well, perhaps…but let’s be real. They’re super common post delivery, and they’re awful! At two weeks postpartum, I’m sitting and moving around without being in pain, praise God! I’m not recovered 100% yet, but getting there!

(photo above: My mom with her granddaughters!)

Exercise? I’ve taken a couple short, slow walks in the past 2 weeks, and I think by next week, I’ll be really impatient to begin exercising again! My November fitness challenge just started up on Monday, and it’s SO HARD to not be able to join in the sweaty selfies each day!!! But I definitely won’t be doing anything more than leisurely walks and some pelvic floor exercises before my 6 week checkup. I want to be 100% sure I’m healed “down there”, to not risk popping stitches or something awful! Eek! Today I took my first walk with all 3 kids – I took it very slowly, and it felt so great! We voted and then walked to Trader Joe’s together. This November weather is crazy warm, and the fresh air is great for all of us!

Weight loss/body Image? I was eager to weigh myself when I got home from the hospital, simply out of curiosity! Two days after delivery, I had lost 18lbs! It’s crazy to me what my body can do! At 2 weeks PP, I’m down 23lbs, and have 17 to go before I’m at my pre-pregnancy weight. I’m not stressing about it (well, really trying not to!!! I would be lying if I said I wasn’t eager to not have a pregnant-looking belly anymore!), or trying to diet. At this point, I’m focusing on taking care of myself by resting whenever I possibly can (which is NOT often with our full house!!) and fueling my body with as nutritious of food as possible. I love my body for what it’s capable of – a twin pregnancy followed by a BIG single baby is no small feat, and I’m incredibly grateful that my body nurtured these three babies! It’s a mindset I have to be conscious of each day, as I do my best to truly respect my body rather than be bummed with how soft it is all over. There is plenty of time to get back into shape, and only a short time with a sweet new baby!

Diastasis? YES. BIG TIME. My ab separation seems much worse this time around than it was with the twins. I will dedicate a whole post to this soon. I can pull my core in pretty tight to where I can actually see ab definition (will share pics of that in my diastasis post to come), but when my core is relaxed, I still look quite round and pregnant. I’ll give you the scoop on my plan to heal my core in a post later this week!How are the twins adjusting? Or perhaps this section should be about how in the world I am adjusting to taking care of a newborn and toddler twins!! This has been very challenging. The first week was rough because I was so sore, and even though I had help from family, it hurt so much to get up and down to be with the twins. They’ve been much more whiny with more frequent tantrums…which I know is to be expected with such a huge adjustment of a new baby in the house. It feels like a constant juggling act to take care of all three! Keeping a mental tab on when the baby was last fed and changed, when the twins last went potty, if they’ve even had their hair brushed or drank any water all morning…even without thinking of meals and things around the house is overwhelming enough! I have to give myself a lot of grace and be very intentional about not letting feelings of guilt creep in and take over – guilt about not being able to give Abram & Madeline enough of my attention, guilt over not loving my husband as well I should be, guilt over having to let Eliza scream if I’m needing to help one of the older kids with potty, guilt over them watching more cartoons than I’d like…and on and on! Not letting these thoughts take root in my mind takes some serious work!

Aside from the challenges, Abram & Madeline have been so sweet with their new sister! Madeline calls Eliza “fuzzy haired Eliza” and Abe calls her his best friend! They love giving her hugs and kisses, and are often eager to sing to her when she’s crying. I’ll do a separate post about what it was like for them to first meet Eliza – it will forever be etched in my memory as one of the sweetest times ever! A dear friend of ours took photos of that time, and I’m eager to share them!

Breastfeeding? YES! I ended up only being able to nurse the twins for 6 weeks (while also supplementing when it was too stressful and exhausting) due to their tummy issues, something I won’t go into detail about now. So, throughout my pregnancy I spent a lot of time praying about having a redemptive experience with this baby as far as breastfeeding. Eliza has been a nursing champ from day one, praise God! I have a big oversupply and overactive letdown, which has been very challenging for both of us. But after doing lots of research, I’ve found ways to deal with this so it’s not as big of an issue as it was last week. I’m hopeful it continues to get better with time! I’m more than happy to write more on this topic if anyone is interested – just shoot me a message or comment on this post 😉

Sleep? What sleep?! Ha! Even though sleep was much harder to come by with newborn twin babies, I had forgotten how hard it is to be in a state of constant sleep deprivation. Getting up to nurse Eliza every 2-3 hours is so hard on my body. I’m already so eager for her to sleep through the night! I just can’t get enough rest!

I think those are all the updates I have for now! Stay tuned for Eliza’s birth story, and a post about my ab separation!

I found it to be super helpful to read through other mama’s lists of what they were taking with them to the hospital, so I thought I’d share mine! It’s been exciting to get all packed up, and we are READY for this baby to arrive! Well, as ready as we can be, that is! For me:

-basic toiletries (the stuff I’ll pack last minute because I use them every day…soap, shampoo/conditioner, makeup, brush, etc)

-dry shampoo

-facial cleansing wipes

-basic robe

-sweatpants

-button-up top (great for nursing and access for doctors/nurses)

-2 nursing tanks

-2 nursing bras

-flowy, cozy tee

-flip flops and socks

-pretty scarf (we’ll have a photographer take photos of our kiddos first meeting the baby, so a scarf will help me feel feminine and pretty!)

And for my diaper bag, this is the one I used with my twins, and LOVED it! It’s from Storksak and they don’t carry this exact one anymore, but this one is the most similar. It’s very worn, and I finally decided to purchase a new one for this baby. I can’t wait for it to arrive, and I’ll share about which one I went with!

I want to hear from YOU! What did you find to be most essential to bring to the hospital with you? Am I missing anything major?!

During my twin pregnancy, I absolutely DREADED knowing what my post-partum body would look like. I mean, if you ever google “twin skin”, you’d be horrified too!! I knew the fact that I’d never be the same again, and was totally ok with that, but I feared always hating my body. It took me about 6 months to shed all but 15 or so pounds, where I was stuck for another 6 months. To say I was discouraged was a huge understatement. No, I wasn’t “overweight”, but I definitely didn’t feel like the fit self I used to be, and each day I had to face my closet to decide on what to wear, I was left feeling discouraged and defeated. I felt like I was living in someone else’s body! I tried so many different programs (personal trainers, expensive gym memberships, etc) but nothing seemed to work for me.

Enter the 21 day fix and my first ever challenge group for accountability! I quickly learned that my nutrition was not where it should be. That whole year, I thought “I just need to somehow eat less and workout more…” and OH what a lie that was!!! The truth was I had been UNDER-eating and OVER-exercising!!! Who would’ve thought THAT would keep me from losing weight?! I wasn’t fueling my body in the way it needed to burn fat, and my excessive cardio was taking a major toll on my body, causing a stress response that made my body hold onto fat.

Once I began eating MORE of the RIGHT foods, in the right proportion (thank you, amazing 21 day fix container system!) and just exercising for 30 minutes a day with a variety of workouts, change began to happen! It didn’t take long before I shed pounds and began to feel my confidence finally starting to rise! I was SO grateful I had finally decided to spend the money on the 21 day fix, as it was truly life-changing for me!

So…I started this blog post simply to share about my post-baby plan this time around and totally didn’t intend on recapping my story from last time! ha! But I was on a roll looking back at that season! All that to say, THIS time around, I don’t have the fear like I did last time. Why? Because I am confident with the tools I have to get back into shape! I won’t be in a huge rush to get back to my pre-baby weight (the scale can be so deceiving anyway!), but will instead focus on making healthy decisions daily – food that fuels nursing a new baby and eventually getting my muscles back!

Here’s my game plan…which certainly may change down the road!

During the first 3 (or so!) weeks postpartum, I don’t plan to follow any specific nutrition plan other than eating as well as I can while not at all stressing about it. I know hormones can be CRAZY after having a baby, and I definitely don’t want the added stress of worrying about what I eat. I’m not one to enjoy tons of processed foods or anything like that, so my not following a specific nutrition program will mean still eating healthy foods 😉 Above all, I plan to be fully present with a newborn and not worrying about my new mama shape or weight!

As soon as I feel ready for it – perhaps around the 4 week postpartum mark, I plan to do one round of the Whole30 to get my eating back to a really solid whole-foods sort of rhythm. I think it will be a great plan to do after baby because there are no restrictions to amounts of food, but rather just focusing on whole foods (meats, veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, eggs). This means no dairy, soy, grains, sugar, legumes, or other processed foods. I’ve done the Whole30 before and love how it got my taste buds back to craving whole foods and not sugar-filled foods! Read all about it on their website here!

Before I am cleared by my doctor to begin exercising, I plan to start taking leisurely walks, little by little. I also plan to do some pelvic floor engaging exercises to begin the healing process for my ab separation (more about that in a separate post!)

After I get the OK to begin exercising, I plan to jump right in with a round of the 21 day fix to jump-start getting strong again! Once I complete one round, I’ll determine if I want to do a 2nd round, or tackle Hammer & Chisel again or try out the new Core de Force, which comes out in November! From there, I hope to complete many different programs – Insanity Max30, Piyo, etc! There are so many really awesome programs that beachbody provides, and ALL are amazingly convenient for new and stay at home moms, as they can be done in the living room while the little ones sleep or play!

That’s the game plan as of now!! Above all, I will give myself GRACE! As I always hear, it takes 9 months to put on the weight, so patience will be key in losing the weight. And, I want to be FULLY PRESENT with my precious newborn, rather than be mentally absent while I am stuck in feelings of shame or discouragement of my postpartum body. That would be a major loss, and my children are worth SO MUCH MORE than me feeling good about my physical body!!

Did you go into your postpartum journey with a plan in place? Did you end up completely changing the plan, or did you find it to be helpful to have a road map of sorts?

Hello hello! It’s been WAY too long since I’ve shared an update on pregnancy! I’m now over 36 weeks, but I took pics last week…so this is more of a 35-36 week update!

I have reached the point where I am READY to meet this baby!!!! Goodness, the last few weeks of pregnancy feel SO HARD. I am SO over being pregnant and am feeling very DONE. But of course, that’s not up to me to decide, ha! But…I will admit. I’m praying that this baby arrives early! A girl can fervently pray, right?! I know God’s timing is perfect and that He has the very best plan; I’m just hopeful that good, best plan includes this baby coming on his/her own a week or two before the due date! 😉 Taking care of toddler twins while already so uncomfortable is very hard and discouraging. I am so very grateful for this life inside me, and grateful that my body has been able to carry it to near full term already!

More updates below the pic

Overall, I’m feeling well, with the typical aches and pains of being 36+ weeks pregnant. I have lower back pain on a regular basis that makes me want to curl up into a ball. I’m SUPER exhausted all the time. I can’t seem to sleep at night but have no trouble falling asleep deeply for 30 min during my toddler’s nap! I’m experiencing some sharp nerve pain that shoots from my crotch down the inside of my left leg (TMI?!), which my doctor just explains as baby’s positioning on a nerve. Thankfully it only last a second or two at a time, because it’s strong enough to make me double over in pain! I’m also still experiencing painful varicose veins, one of those things I feel like mamas just don’t mention during pregnancy, ha! I had no idea that was a thing until I began feeling it myself!

I have contractions all throughout my day, thanks to having an Irritable Uterus. And yes, that’s the actual medical term! ha! Because I’m abnormal in how many I have each day, I have a bit of fear around how to know when it’s the “real deal”. My doctor assures me to not pay attention to them until they’re strong enough that I have to stop what I’m doing to get through them. Right now, they’re just an uncomfortable tightening, but not strong enough to have to breathe through them or anything.

Weight Gain? Well…with all my efforts to keep my weight gain to a minimum and be as active and healthy as possible this pregnancy, I’ve gained just as much as I did during my twin pregnancy at this point! Crazy. I’m already topping the scales at just over a 40lb gain at 36 weeks. It definitely takes intentionality to not let this discourage me. I regularly have to remind myself that I’m doing all I can to keep myself healthy for this baby, and that I won’t be stuck with extra weight forever

Check out this fun comparison pic! I think it’s so fascinating! 35 weeks with twins versus a singleton! It’s crazy to me how LOW this baby is this time compared to last! My bladder can definitely testify to the fact that this baby is so low! The Nursery? Well, it’s nearly all set! I’m waiting on one custom piece of artwork to hang above the crib, and the room will be ready! Well…other than filling the drawers with baby clothes and swaddles! It’s funny how much later I’ve been in preparing for this baby compared to last time around! I’ll be sharing room pics once this custom piece is here!

Exercise? I had been really consistent with exercising regularly until this past week, when I’ve logged probably 3-4 workouts all week. What I really want to do is lay down and rest at every spare moment I have…even though taking long walks feels so great! I’m sad the mornings are getting light out so much later, so it’s more challenging to get a good walk in the morning before the twins area awake. I’ve been using a couple prenatal DVDs, going for walks, and also still doing a couple of the 21 day fix and t25 workouts as well. I’ll soon share my hopes and plans as far as getting back into shape after baby arrives!

Signs of Labor? Nada. I’ve had some days where I just feel “off” and start wondering if that means labor is getting close!! But then nothing happens, ha!

Boy/Girl intuition? Nope! No “feelings” either way!

And that’s my update for now! I’ll end with my comparison photos from this pregnancy so far!

It’s not a secret that I LOVE succulents. And cactuses. I mean, for a girl who seems to kill plants (and especially house plants!) in a blink of an eye, succulents were MADE for me!! Anyone with me on that one?!

Well, the last thing I want during pregnancy is for my ever-growing belly to FEEL like a prickly, scratchy cactus! I mean, I’m that preggo mama walking around scratching her tummy in public because, well, it ITCHES! And although I can’t completely get rid of the itching that comes from stretching skin, keeping my skin hydrated by drinking lots of water and lathering on creams definitely helps!

Ok, let’s talk stretch marks. There are a MILLION and one stretch mark creams available these days. I get it – our society is filled with magazines and internet articles of mamas whose bodies “bounce back” from pregnancy seemingly overnight, with not even a stretch mark to show for it. It’s no wonder we seem to idolize the beautiful pregnant belly that seems so perfectly smooth and even in color. So do these creams WORK? I believe they can help, but at the end of the day, our genetics play a much larger role in stretch marks than all of our preventative measures. I was not one of those lucky ones who could go through pregnancy without a stretch mark, especially having full-term twins my first go-around!

Even if your genetics may determine that you’ll end up with a few or many of these stretch marks, I believe pregnancy creams can help you feel beautiful and less itchy! And who knows, they may even reduce the appearance of the stretch marks without you realizing it! So here are my go-to creams and oils for this pregnancy!

1. Motherlove Pregnant Belly Salve. This oily cream smells amazing and feels great! Even though it’s oil-based, I haven’t noticed it staining my clothes or leaving funny marks on my clothes. I buy mine at Whole Foods! I usually lather this on mid-day to tame the itchiness.

2. Derma E Stretch Mark Creme. My favorite!! LOVE this. Love the light scent of it, and it feels SO good. I use this in the morning and at night time, and love that it’s more of a lotion than an oil.

3. Sweet Almond Oil. I read somewhere that almond oil is amazing for stretch marks, so I decided to add this to my regimen! I often lather this on my tummy right after I shower, and before i use the derma e cream! I can’t speak of its effectiveness of preventing stretch marks, but it feels great, and I have no new stretch marks yet…from what I can tell!

Did you use a stretch mark cream during pregnancy? Did you find it to be effective?

This is a question I am asked regularly, and I’d love to share my personal guidelines and suggestions! Please note that I am NOT a doctor or even a fitness professional, but rather a mama who loves to exercise and keeps at it during pregnancy! I know first hand how important physical activity is during pregnancy, especially after having been on strict bedrest for 10 weeks with twins! Exercise – even if it just be daily movement – does SO much for the pregnant body, and for the unborn baby! Yes, pregnancy is a time to rest and be more cautious than normal, but it’s not a time to just kick back and relax ALL of the time!

Not only will exercise help us pregnant mamas feel our very best during pregnancy and avoid some common but yet preventable aches and pains (yes, exercise helps tame back pain and even keeps swelling at bay!), but it also helps us feel our best post-pregnancy as well. I’m not a huge fan of the expectations put on women to “bounce back” super fast from pregnancy, because the reality is that it WILL take time to get back into shape. Some women lose all the weight they gained in just a couple weeks after pregnancy, but others of us (including myself!!) find that it takes effort and patience with ourselves!

I’ve been quiet around here…but not due to inactivity, that’s for sure! I’ve been very busy, and taking care of twin toddlers while pregnant sure does take a toll on me. By the time I DO have time to do something like blog, I have a hard time even putting together words because my mind and body feel so depleted! BUT I’m excited to say I have some blog posts in the works for next week, hooray!

It’s really hard to believe I am just a few days away from the THIRD trimester! How did that happen?! It’s crazy how the first trimester always drags by for me, the 2nd one flies by, and then the 3rd one…at least for me last time, seemed to drag on forever as well! But I have a feeling it will be different this time since I’m not stuck on strict bedrest and some days can’t complete basic to-do’s on my list, let alone preparing well for baby!!

Last night I had a crazy vivid dream about going into labor and having this baby…and I was completely unprepared. We hadn’t packed bags, I literally didn’t bring anything with me, and I forgot entirely how to nurse a baby. Ha! That dream definitely makes me feel eager to get prepared!

Week 26 is a milestone week for me, because it’s the week that I went into my first pre-term labor scare with the twins! Read all about that update on my photography blog here! My husband and I cried together at the hospital, believing that we were going to have preemie babies and we hadn’t even decided on names yet. We were so grateful the contractions finally slowed and I was sent home, even if it meant full-time bedrest for me! This means I’ve never been past this point of pregnancy without having to be horizontal 24/7 so this is a whole new world for me! I am grateful for each day, each week that passes, and I pray my body continues to stay strong. When I was just 23 weeks, I had an afternoon of a couple hours worth of contractions consistently 3-5 minutes apart, and I’m thankful that since then, the contractions have been inconsistent, despite how daily they are. Apparently that’s normal with an irritable uterus!

Here’s a fun comparison of 26 weeks with twins vs one baby!! Pretty similar, but my belly isn’t QUITE as big this time around! (side note: I lost a bunch of files, including my twin pregnancy ones, so this is a screenshot from my blog…thus the poor quality!!)

Otherwise, how am I feeling? I’m feeling tired. I often crash on the couch after we put the kids to bed! I’m feeling lots of back pain, especially at night. I’m feeling pain due to swollen, achy varicose veins. My right ankle gets really swollen, but I’m thrilled I haven’t had to take off my wedding ring yet! Hooray for that! I’m LOVING feeling the movement in my tummy, as it seems to be more and more each day! I get so distracted with what I’m doing because I love watching my tummy move Madeline has been really loving feeling baby kick too! She’s really attuned to my growing tummy – she daily comments on it and wants to give baby a hug and a kiss. It brings me such joy! Abram hasn’t really noticed my tummy and it’s rare when he really excited about baby! So funny the boy/girl differences there!

Workouts? I just wrapped up my pregg0-version of the 21 day fix the other week and will share about it soon! The third trimester will be different, as I will not be sticking to a particular program and will be taking my workouts down a notch, now that I’m feeling large and uncomfortable! I’ve been loving taking long morning walks before the kids get up, and I hope to do lots of swimming in the next 3 months. I’ll be doing light weight lifting to help keep some level of strength!

Weight Gain? I struggle with this each day, and I’d love to share a full post about it sometime. It’s all a mental struggle for me. My weight gain is almost exactly on track with what it was during my twin pregnancy, and that’s really hard for me to swallow. My body is just designed to do a particular thing and no matter how healthfully I eat, I don’t have control over the weight it puts on! I’m up 27lbs with the bulk of baby’s weight gain yet to come…which is a bit scary!! But I will press on making healthy decisions and praying that God frees my mind from worrying about the weight, and rather be in awe of the miracle of life in me!

Preparations? I’ve started getting the urge to begin nesting and create a nursery for baby! I think it will begin to feel really REAL once a room is set up for this little babe! I can’t wait!

I could share more, but this is getting really long!!

I want to hear from YOU! What things did you enjoy doing during your 3rd trimester to help prepare yourself for baby’s arrival?!

Here we are, already past halfway through!! It’s funny how the first trimester drags by so slowly, and then the 2nd trimester seems to fly by!!

Overall, I have been doing well! I am LOVING feeling movement from my sweet baby all throughout the day, and so exciting to be able to watch my belly move with those kicks and somersaults! Pregnancy is a miraculous time for sure! I’ll never forget when my husband first felt those kicks from my tummy last time around, and was so weirded out by them, haha!

I’ve been very busy lately with shooting weddings and coaching women in my fitness groups…on top of being a stay at home mom of twin (almost) three-year-olds, and though it feels like a LOT to manage some days, I wouldn’t trade it for anything right now!!

I haven’t seen a huge increase in my appetite yet, despite the scale continuing to go up each week! I still seem to be gaining just the amount as the number of weeks I am…and I am just waiting for that to slow down a little, yikes!! I am active every day and eat mainly whole foods plus some dark chocolate and have to trust that my body knows exactly what it is doing! I haven’t had any specific cravings or aversions this trimester. Boring, I know! ha! The only bothersome things I’m experiencing are trouble sleeping (Oh how I MISS sleeping on my tummy!!!!), lower back pain, and painful varicose veins! I am so thankful those things are minor!

It’s funny how for my first pregnancy, it seemed like we were planning and preparing for the twins from very early on, and I realized I really haven’t done anything yet to get ready for life with another child!! He or she will be here before we know it!
I took this pic at 20 weeks but forgot to share it!

It’s a commonly held myth that weight lifting during pregnancy should be avoided! Even for me, it’s easy to think “now that I’m pregnant, I need to back way off on my workouts and do what is good for baby.” Well, working out during pregnancy is very very good for not only mama but also for baby!!

In general, expecting mamas who exercise experience less aches and pains throughout pregnancy, suffer from less fatigue, have quicker/easier labors, don’t struggle with constipation as much, and getting back into shape after pregnancy is generally easier…among many, many other benefits!

But today I want to talk a little about weight lifting! Lifting weights during pregnancy is a great way to keep your muscles strong and prepare the body for labor! Lifting also helps condition the heart, increases blood flow, and helps regulate weight gain. The best advice I can offer is this: if you were not doing any sort of lifting program before pregnancy, be very cautious in trying new things during pregnancy, and listen to your body! Perhaps begin with very basic moves only using light weights (3-5lbs) until you feel very comfortable with that. If you did lift prior to pregnancy, simply scale down your weights a notch and be careful of any moves that may compromise your balance!

(This seems self-explanatory, but be sure to discuss your workouts with your doctor to make sure all is well to exercise!)

For me, I was used to lifting 15-40lbs depending on the move, and I’ve scale back to using 10s and 15s for both arm and leg exercises. It feels great to continue lifting during pregnancy, and I typically lift 3-4 times per week. I will share a separate post about what my weekly workouts look like. But for now, a sample weight lifting workout for the 2nd trimester!

For this workout, set a timer and complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes!